The Democratic National Convention didn’t exactly start as party organizers hoped it would.
Leading up to the Chicago-based convention, party leaders feared that pro-Hamas and anti-Israel demonstrations from far-left protesters might disrupt the event and even devolve into violence.
On Sunday, during a welcome party for delegates, some of those fears came to fruition.
A lone protester rushed onto the stage, grabbing a hold of the microphone.
She then proceeded to scream at Vice President Kamala Harris’s supporters, as reported by Newsweek.
She yelled, “150,000 people are dead.”
“You are funding a genocide. The Harris-Biden administration keeps sending money to Israel.”
Security then escorted the protester off the stage.
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Other attendees could be heard chanting “Free Palestine” as she was escorted out.
The anti-Israel Instagram account Direct Actions for Palestine later posted a video of the incident.
Anti-Israel protesters also took their anti-Israel demonstrations to Chicago streets Sunday evening.
The protesters brought Chicago traffic to a standstill.
According to Newsweek, “thousands are set to converge” on the DNC this week, which runs from Monday to Thursday, to protest on behalf of the citizens of Gaza and their democratically-elected terrorist leaders.
A coalition of over 200 organizations is coordinating to bring “tens of thousands” of protesters to the event, one organizer told Newsweek.
Both local Chicagoans and Democrats fear the damage far-left protesters may cause to the city and to the party’s reputation.
Multiple House Democrats told Axios that Democrats are fearful for their own safety in light of the extremist demonstrations.
Many have booked hotel rooms under aliases and have been told to avoid certain areas around the DNC “because they expect violence.”
“The protesters aren’t staying in a designated protest site … and there are people who are going to go and really try to cause trouble,” one Democrat told the outlet.
According to Fox News, many local Chicago businesses boarded up their doors ahead of the convention in anticipation of violence.
Fox News reported, the number of far-left anti-Isreal demonstrators could reach as high as 100,000.
